Hair in the Nesarian Empire
Hair in the Nesarian Empire In all the Imperial cultures, one's hair is traditionally closely associated with their identity, although this association has fallen out of favour in recent decades. There are of course differences between the cultures, but one trait present in all of them (which was either originally present or introduced from Nesarian influence through the Nesarian Empire) is the association of the ponytail with warriors and strength. Elvic People The Elvic people all share generally the same attitude to hair, with minor regional variations, predominantly when it comes to attitudes to facial hair. The profession of the barber is highly respected particularly in Nesaria, and ancient Ascaria is generally regarded to be the first city to establish a proper class of professional barbers who were associated with the Barber's Guild, which still exists today as a kind of trade union and voluntary regulatory body for barbers across the Empire. Colour More vibrant, rich hair colours are typically seen as more desirable in Elvic cultures. Amongst Elvic Humans, red or ginger hair is the most highly valued, and this trait is commonly seen amongst the nobility, particularly the Imperial dynasty. Elves, who possess far more varied and unique hair colours, typically find colours along the spectrum of red, amber and purple most attractive, with the richness of the colour usually not being relevant. However, any form of dyeing the hair to achieve a more desirable colour is deeply frowned upon by Elvic people, who see it as a dishonest practice that betrays a dishonest character. Warrior's Ponytail Alongside the Estemorians (explained below), the Elvic people most strongly connect the ponytail to the warrior, more specifically a low ponytail at the neck - a ponytail elsewhere does not have this same association and is usually only worn by women. This is still true to some extent in the modern day, as veterans will usually maintain a warrior's ponytail and wigs with ponytails are worn in ceremonial duties, but in actual combat hair is kept short. Traditionally, only soldiers or veterans may wear the warrior's ponytail, and only those who have actually fought may braid it. Although the ponytail itself is the defining feature of this style, there is a large degree of freedom in how the rest of the hair goes; some kept it short everywhere but the back, some pulled the hair back tightly and others left it looser. Some, such as Emperor Athdus III, kept generally long hair that fell to the jaw but only tied the back into a ponytail. The ponytail did present something of a problem when fighting against other cultures that did not maintain a ponytail for warriors, such as the people of the Western Desert. There was, historical records show, a kind of gentleman's agreement where warriors would generally not exploit the ponytail of their opponent by grabbing onto it in battle, but cultures that did not respect the ponytail also did not respect this rule, and so the ponytail was often ordered to be bundled up or cut off entirely in combat against these people. Facial Hair Amongst men, facial hair is typically seen as undesirable amongst the High Elves and Avamorians (of both Elvish and Human descent), but amongst those descending from the Eshérian branch of Elvic culture - that is, the Nesarians - a healthy beard is desirable and seen as a sign of masculinity. A moustache on its own, and any great degree of styling, are both seen as undesirable - a natural but trimmed and well-kept beard has always been a desirable trait amongst both the Elvic and native Nesarians. Priests (and sometimes administrators and rulers) keep long, mighty beards, but most keep the beard short, typically no longer than an inch. The beard only became more reinforced as the Nesarians made contact with the outside world, as they saw it as a representation of "manly Nesarian virtues" against the supposedly effeminate Elves, Osdarthians and Indissians. A brief trend in the early 1830s saw short trimmed beards combined with big styled moustaches, something particularly worn by the Republicans in the ongoing Civil War, but this did not catch on everywhere and was entirely absent after 1840. Hair Hygiene Hygiene was a recognised problem by the various armies of Nesarian origin, as both the comparatively long ponytail and the beard were a harbour for lice, and the beard could have food caught in it. The earliest surviving records of military regulations surrounding hair on the scalp and face are from Emperor Athdus III's military reforms, but such regulations doubtlessly existed before. They mandated the daily cleaning and combing of both the hair and beard, and trimming to be performed at least once every month to ensure the length of both the hair and beard were to be kept to an acceptable standard. Soldiers found with lice were also to be immediately quarantined and have all the hair on their head shaved off and burned, as well as having all their clothes and sheets replaced and the old ones burned. The soldiers were provided with the equipment to stick to these regulations. As such, the Imperial Army very rarely suffered from lice and generally presented a well-trimmed face to the enemy, although these regulations were not as strictly followed in the coming centuries, leading to lice and undisciplined hair becoming an issue once again by the period of the Time of Troubles, and the regulations had to be harshly re-imposed during the war. Estemoria Warrior's Ponytail The warrior's ponytail occupies a similar special status in Estemorian culture as it does with the Elvic cultures, although in Estemoria the ponytail is generally more seen as a sign of strength than specifically demarking a soldier. This is likely because, in traditional Estemorian nomadic society, all men were expected to be warriors. However, they maintain the rule that only one who has seen combat may braid their ponytail. Unlike the Elvic folk, however, Estemorian women also commonly wear the warrior's ponytail, because traditionally many Estemorian women have also served as warriors. Estemorian mothers often wear a ponytail to the side and hang it over their dominant shoulder, only braiding it if they have given birth. This is representative of the Estemorian attitude that wives and mothers are "a different kind of warrior", and respected just as highly. Orcish Cultures The Orcs of Mortia and Drazak typically maintain very short hair, with some areas of the head completely shaved. Mortian Orcs sometimes adopt the hairstyles of the neighbouring Elvic Nesarians, but their old traditions have largely remained in place. Since Orcs have very little variation in the way of hair colours - only Mortian Orcs can bear hair colours other than black or dark brown - the colour of hair has little traditional bearing on attractiveness. Male It is common for Orcish men to shave the sides of their head, but leave the top uncut. Drazaki and Unkhori Orcs typically have the remaining hair short, often fashioned into a mohawk, but Mortian Orcs typically have it a little longer. In any case, long hair extending beyond the ears is seen as effeminate. Female The prominent hairstyle of Orcish women is to have a very long braided ponytail, typically extending to or even beyond the hips, but with the sides of the head shaved. This style is still almost ubiquitous amongst Drazaki and Unkhori Orcs. It fell out of favour with the Mortians around the 3rd century AD, but it made a significant comeback in the Mortian Renaissance, and in modern times it is once again a common hairstyle, although not as popular as it once was and not as popular as it is now amongst the Drazakis and Unkhoris.